weather

Rain over Beinn Achaladair and Glas Bheinn mountains, near Bridge of Orchy in the Scottish Highlands.

Probably my favourite shot from last year, this image sums up the fabulous experience of being in the Highlands. The contrasts of light and darkness really come together to add some drama, even menace, to the mountains. It could almost be a reflection of the history of Scotland as well as the geography. The rain swept across slowly, so slowly in fact that i could take photos and do a short timelapse video on the iPhone.

Stopping to take the photographs hasn’t been easy. The viewpoint area offers a stunning panorama of the mountains and is always a popular stop with tourists in buses, car, bikes etc. On several previous occasions (the first there was a lone piper playing – mountains+pipes=perfection) there was literally no room to park a bike, let alone the car, so i had to pass by. Last year i managed to get there earlier at around mid morning, just before the traffic started to build, park up and finally get some shots. You can get a good cup of tea there too!

As a mountain photograph goes, this is the one i have to beat. I have a large print on the wall of this photo, and i’ve also used it as one of the new header images on this blog. Rain, mist and highland mountains… it just captures it perfectly. Hopefully next time i’m passing, the piper will be playing!

The rain came in fast, moving across the expanse of water between Skye and Kyle of Lochalsh. Not that the weather bothered me as I took photos. There is nothing like a bit of rough weather to blow the cobwebs away especially if it’s rough coastal weather.

I did wonder if I was the only one to think it was slightly blowy so I was relieved to hear the lady in the nearby Lifeboat shop remark about how windy it was. It was heavy weather for everyone including the locals it seems.

Weather is, of course, an important component in photography and yet we often have the tendency to put away our cameras once the clouds darken and the rain appears. Keeping the camera out of the bag can often deliver rewarding results though a drying cloth is definitely something to keep with you.

The sheer speed of weather conditions means you have to be quick, though often you do see it coming and can add it to any landscape photo as long as you are quick.

So why is the post called ninety degrees? Well that’s the angle that the rain is falling at the moment 🙂

Welcome to the Darker Skies Blog

The Darker Skies blog was started in August 2009. It’s a photo scrapbook, a mobile blog for when I’m out and about, home to the podcast links page and a place for personal photography.